How do I enable friendly URLs in PrestaShop?

Definition: A friendly URL is a web page address containing readable words, such as a product or category name. PrestaShop requires URL rewriting, a server mechanism that maps requested addresses to resources, to serve these URLs.

As of 17 October 2026, the procedure below follows the PrestaShop 8 documentation.

Key facts

• PrestaShop's SEO and URLs guide places the “Friendly URL” switch under “Set up URLs”.
• PrestaShop's Apache configuration example uses AllowOverride All to permit rewrites in .htaccess, a directory configuration file.
• Apache's mod_rewrite reference identifies RewriteEngine as the directive that enables or disables runtime rewriting.
• PrestaShop supplies a separate Nginx configuration example that requires adaptation to the server.

Where is the friendly URL setting?

In the back office, the path is Shop Parameters > Traffic > SEO & URLs. Under “Set up URLs”, “Friendly URL” can be switched to “Yes”, then the changes saved. PrestaShop's SEO and URLs documentation requires confirming rewriting support first: enabling it on an incompatible server can make the shop unavailable.

After activation, opening product and category links checks whether their rewritten addresses work. The guide calls for testing when automatic server detection is inconclusive.

What must an Apache host allow?

The mod_rewrite module rewrites requested URLs using rules. Apache's module documentation requires RewriteEngine On and either FollowSymLinks or SymLinksIfOwnerMatch for rewriting in a directory context. The hosting administrator can check these settings for the shop.

An .htaccess file holds configuration that Apache applies within a directory. PrestaShop's Apache setup guide includes this directory configuration:

<Directory /path/to/prestashop>
    # enable the .htaccess rewrites
    AllowOverride All
    Options -Indexes
    Require all granted
</Directory>

The path represents the shop installation directory and needs adapting. This block is an excerpt from the server configuration example, which PrestaShop says may be incomplete.

Apache's AllowOverride documentation explains that .htaccess files are completely ignored when both AllowOverride and AllowOverrideList are None. The host therefore needs to check whether the shop's rewrite directives are permitted by its server configuration.

What changes on Nginx?

PrestaShop's Nginx setup guide supplies server configuration containing this front office routing block:

location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
}

The full example also contains product image rewrite rules and a separate location for the administration directory. The guide explicitly requires adapting the configuration to the server's needs. For an Nginx installation, that example gives the hosting administrator the server-side configuration to review alongside the back office setting.

Related terms

• How do I edit URL route patterns in PrestaShop?
• How do I control accented characters in PrestaShop URLs?
• How do I configure canonical redirects in PrestaShop?
• Where do I set the shop domain in PrestaShop?

FAQ

Does the mod_rewrite warning prove that friendly URLs cannot work?

PrestaShop's SEO and URLs guide says the warning can appear when server settings cannot be detected. You need to test rewriting and confirm the configuration with your host.

Can I remove product and category IDs with this switch?

The same guide says IDs remain in friendly URLs by default. You can generate the readable words from a product or category name, or enter them manually.

Sources

1. PrestaShop, “SEO and URLs”, undated
2. PrestaShop, “Configure Apache Httpd”, 8 January 2025
3. Apache Software Foundation, “Apache Module mod_rewrite”, undated
4. Apache Software Foundation, “Apache Core Features: AllowOverride”, undated
5. PrestaShop, “Configure Nginx”, 8 January 2025

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